Headline

Operations Leader & Process Excellence Specialist | 23+ Years in Fintech, Payments, Prepaid Cards & Loyalty Ops | Built from scratch and scaled - PayZapp, HDFC Smartbuy & Axis Edge Rewards. ex Blackhawk|R360|Wibmo

About

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 23+ years of experience building and scaling fintech, payments, and rewards operations from the ground up in fast-paced startup environments, with a specialization in Process Excellence and continuous improvement. A seasoned operations leader & with deep, end-to-end expertise across digital wallets, prepaid cards, payment gateways, loyalty programs, and travel commerce — having been a founding team member on several category-defining products in the Indian fintech space, including PayZapp, Axis Edge Rewards, and HDFC Smartbuy. 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 - 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 & 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: Wallet operations (PayZapp), prepaid card lifecycle (physical & virtual), payment gateway implementation, 3DS/2FA operations for 19+ leading Indian banks, card manufacturing support - 𝗟𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 & 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: Points accrual/redemption ("earn & burn") program design and operations, physical reward fulfilment (procurement, inventory forecasting, warehousing, logistics, TAT management) - 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲: Flight, hotel, bus, and train booking operations across points and cash payment modes - 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺: Merchant onboarding, integration, training, and billing system setup (Piingle) - 𝗘-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 & 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲: Sales, billing, and reconciliation management - 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: Call center & IVR operations, concierge services, L2/L3 support frameworks (scaled to 100+ seat operations) - 𝗘𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Fraud monitoring, escalation management, fund management & forecasting, data analytics, process design and continuous improvement, client relationship management - 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀: Distribution channel, dealer network, and service process management 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 (𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗽) - 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗭𝗮𝗽𝗽 – Wallet-based payments platform - 𝗔𝘅𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 – Points accrual, redemption, and physical rewards program - 𝟯𝗗𝗦/𝟮𝗙𝗔 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 – Support infrastructure for 19+ top Indian banks - 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀 – KVB & Central Bank of India (program management) - 𝗣𝗶𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 – Wallet-based gifting solution (sales & operations) - 𝗛𝗗𝗙𝗖 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗯𝘂𝘆 – Call centre and concierge setup (100+ seats) 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 - 𝗛𝗗𝗙𝗖 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗯𝘂𝘆 – Travel, physical rewards, and call centre operations

Location

Greater Bengaluru Area

AI stack

claude

Work experience

Sr. Staff Enterprise Application Engineer at Blackhawk Network India, Mar 2021 - May 2026 · 5 yrs 3 mos, India, 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 (𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗢𝗽𝘀) • Established and led the Data Analytics function, delivering insights on payment failures, risk rejections, and transaction drops • Analyzed product line performance using Power BI, Snowflake, and Amazon Redshift, and delivered executive dashboards via GA4, CJA, and the data warehouse • Identified root causes with partner teams and banks, driving fixes that improved transaction success rates and reduced losses Risk Provider Evaluation • Evaluated and benchmarked multiple risk providers, recommending solutions that strengthened fraud detection and minimized revenue leakage 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗜𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 & 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻) • Built and scaled end-to-end reconciliation, billing, and fund management frameworks across multiple global regions for a new product launch • Implemented customer invoicing, partner tax invoicing, and audit compliance processes, enabling scalable financial and operational workflows 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Partnered with Product, Tech, Banking, and Business teams to close requirement gaps across payments, analytics, reconciliation, merchant onboarding, operations, and taxation • Streamlined user and process audits, certificate tracking and renewal, and platform onboarding to improve efficiency and compliance 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Analyzed 12+ months of call center data to pinpoint recurring issues and proposed long-term fixes to improve customer experience and efficiency • Set the strategic vision and roadmap for AI-driven support automation

Head - Operations at Reward360 Global Services Pvt Ltd., Jul 2019 - Nov 2020 · 1 yr 5 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, - Managed annual sales operations of Rs. 2500 Crs and ensured company resources are optimally allocated amongst different products across the loyalty and eCommerce platforms - Managed Procurement, fulfilment and end mile delivery for more that 1500+ SKUs across India & ME - Managed cost and tracking of end to end purchase management - Developed, managed and improved end to end vendor life-cycle management processes - Managed regular senior level collaborative meetings with vendor, ensuring operations TAT and metrics across all KPIs are met - Forecast, work with partners and clients to arrange funds and manage the same for the digital program and its services - Managed teams to handle - daily reconciliation with payment systems and partner; process end of day settlement to the partners; initiate customer refunds; handle exceptional cases and chargebacks - Handle customer and client escalation; audit and service delivery related activities

Head - Digital Operations at Reward360 Global Services Pvt Ltd., Apr 2017 - Jun 2019 · 2 yrs 3 mos

Head of Operations at REWARD360, 2017 - 2020 · 3 yrs, Led operations for ₹2500 Cr+ annual GMV across e-commerce and loyalty platforms for major banks (HDFC, Axis, SCB, ICICI, Amex) Managed end-to-end payment operations: reconciliation, settlements, refunds, fraud, and chargebacks Directed large-scale vendor ecosystem (250+) and ensured SLA/KPI adherence across partners Built and scaled multi-channel customer support operations, improving resolution efficiency and CX Drove new revenue initiatives (cross-sell, concierge services, travel add-ons) Oversaw procurement, fulfilment, and logistics for 1500+ SKUs across India & Middle East Implemented complex loyalty configurations (400+ Cr records, 1500+ rules) for large banking clients

Head - Operations at OPEN SKY LABS PRIVATE LIMITED, May 2016 - Apr 2017 · 1 yr, - Introduced the new cloud cum wallet based gifting solution for local merchants, targeting the impulsive and last minute gifting users - Successfully tied up with first 35+ local merchants, which grew to 160+ merchants in a year - Handled 5 member on-field team to setup and operate 3500+ partner stores of the Piingle platform - Managed onboarding, setup and training of redemption at the partner/ merchant stores - Setup and managed daily reconciliation, fund management and merchant payouts - Managed call centre support for customer and the partner/ merchant

Head - Business Development at OPEN SKY LABS PRIVATE LIMITED, Oct 2015 - May 2016 · 8 mos

Head of Operations at PIINGLE (Open Sky Labs), 2015 - 2017 · 2 yrs, Built operations for a closed-loop prepaid gifting platform, including reconciliation, payouts, and merchant lifecycle Scaled merchant network from 35 to 160+ partners within a year Led merchant onboarding, training, and customer support operations Contributed to product and GTM strategy through market insights